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Hey SOLO sistas!

(( Happy Friday!! ))

This week, as part of our #FitnessFriday series, personal trainer & fitness model: Summer Allgyer, is giving you a complete cool-down routine, including pre/post nutrition and stretching suggestions to follow ANY exercise routine!

Take a look at the types of work outs below, and refer to the one closest to your usual method of exercise.

For the Runners…

What to do immediately after the workout:

Stretch your legs in every direction: Reverse lunge, side lunge, Pigeon pose. Also, twist the upper body to counter balance the repetitive pounding of one foot in front of the other.

What to eat afterwards:

Eat a 3:1 carb to protein meal. If you’re following a Paleo diet, replace your carbohydrates with dark leafy greens and fats. A quick go-to solution is a protein rich smoothie with low-sugar fruits, veggies and protein.

How to prepare for the next session:

Foam roll* for a minimum of 8 seconds on each muscle to minimize tension around the fascia. Tight muscles and fascia can turn into inflammation, which can then lead to injury, so make rolling part of your daily recovery.

*Note: foam rolling can be very painful for very tight individuals, start with just 8 seconds and work your way up to 3 minutes on each muscle.

For the Gym Rats…

What to do immediately after the workout:

Immediately following the workout, stay longer in your static stretches. Think 3-5 breathes in each stretch. Follow that with a cold shower to reduce inflammation.

What to eat afterwards:

Eat a 2:1 carb to protein ratio. On strength days your body will crave more protein. Morning exercisers should eat eggs, with fresh greens and grains for sustained energy throughout the day. Night exercisers – grab a lean protein like eggs, tempeh, fish, or poultry paired with greens and a healthy serving of fat like avocado or coconut oil.

How to prepare for the next session:

Start your strength workout with a dynamic warm up like pulse lunges, walk-outs to plank, squats and jumping jacks. A great active warm up will cue your muscles and brain to meet the challenge of inclines and heavy weight in the weight-room, while also decreasing your chance of injury.

For the Boxing Babes…

What to do immediately after the workout:

Take one minute at the end of your session to sit in silence and to give your parasympathetic nervous system time to recover and reset. Try to avoid moving directly from the workout to sitting in your car navigating traffic. Don’t even zone out on your phone.

Follow that with a cold shower. Cool water will help treat any immediate inflammation and restore your muscles.

What to Eat Afterwards:

Eat a 2:1 carb to protein ratio on Power days. This can be similar to a strength day, so think smoothie, eggs or a small portion of lean meat with veggies and grains.

How to prepare for the next session:

Try trigger point release therapy with a tennis ball or softball. Softball is a great tool to get deep into the psoas muscle. Try to release each trigger point by holding for 1 minute. And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. More water = less inflammation.

For the Yogi-Girls…

What to do immediately after the workout:

Savasana! It’s often considered the most important asana in yoga. When lying down, relax all tension in your muscles and especially let your face fall soft. When the face is soft the mind is soft and calm.

What to Eat Afterwards:

Water should be the first thing you grab post class - especially if you’re practicing in a heated room. Follow that with a balanced meal of fresh greens, healthy grains, proteins and good fats. Optimal balance is about 3 ounces of protein to 1 cup of greens and ½ cup of grains.

How to Prepare for the Next Session:

Disconnect from your phone 10 minutes before class and slow outside distractions. Let yoga be a time to completely decompress & destress.

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Thank you Summer!!

(( Do you have a fitness Q you'd like Summer to answer? Shoot us a note --> hello@sheonlylivesonce.com and you could be featured in her next #FitnessFriday post! ))

- ABOUT -

Summer is a personal trainer, fitness model, instructor at Orange Theory Fitness, and a West Coast trainer for Nike. Get more health & exercise tips over at her website + blog: One Summer Day.